FORT POLK, La. - During the summer, the South Fort 50-meter pool is a
sunny place to cool off from the stifling heat. In October, a bubble
structure covers the pool, converting it for the colder months into a
natatorium. Between the changing room and the bubble, swimmers suffer a
cold blast of winter before passing through revolving doors into the
chlorine-scented, humid warmth.
Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 6:30 p.m., fifteen children from
ages 5 to 13 brave the brief cold blast for swimming practice. Four
coaches run the practice including Jennifer Rademacher and three
assistants. The assistant coaches break the children into groups based
on ability and run targeted practices to focus on what the young
swimmers specifically need to work on. The advanced swimmers work on
speed while the intermediate and beginner groups work on fundamentals.
Swimmers perform freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly
stroke.
The group competes as part of the Louisiana Swimming Association, which
holds its next meeting Feb. 20 in Shreveport. At the meet, Fort Polk's
youth swim team will compete based on age and stroke.
"It's a fun thing for a child to compete and it gives them motivation to
swim faster," said Rademacher. "Since the meets are spread far apart,
it's important that we keep these practices fun. It's not just generated
solely around competitiveness."
The kids also play games, such as sharks and minnows, where one swimmer
plays a shark and the rest play minnows. The minnows start at one side
of the pond and the shark at the other. They cross the pool to the other
side and whichever minnows the shark tags on the way becomes a shark in
the next round until all the minnows have become sharks and a new round
begins. The swimmers also practice other skills, such as treading water.
"Some of them can tread for over ten minutes," said Rademacher. "That's
giving them comfort with the water, letting them know that relaxing and
treading for a long time is a good life skill."
Knowing how to swim and tread water are valuable survival skills but can
also contribute to general physical health.
"The child might not want to swim competitively, but just being on the
team and swimming three times a week is really good for them," said
Rademacher. "It's probably one of the best forms of exercise as far as
building muscles and cardio."
Whether they are in it for the competition, physical fitness or fun, the
children display dedication. Before practice had begun and the coaches
had instructed them on what they were to do, the kids began swimming
laps.
"They don't know what they're going to do today and they're swimming
laps," said Rademacher. "That's how motivated they are."
One student in particular impresses Rademacher. Gabriel Smith, 7, has
already shown great endurance, being able to put in a mile of swimming
during an hour's practice, keeping up with the older kids and even
competing against older swimmers as he did this past summer.
"I put him in the pool because his endurance level is insane," said
Christine Smith, Gabriel's mother. "He started off in the 25-meter pool.
Going across it once is a little intimidating when they are at that age.
(Assistant Coach) Megan Jackson worked with him for a long time and now
he can do all the strokes, swim for a solid hour and keep up with all
the older kids."
"He impresses me to no end because a lot of grownups can't even fathom
two laps in the 50-meter pool and he just goes," said Rademacher.
The swimming season is year-round. During the winter, when pool time is
scarcer due to the limited number of indoor pools, the team only gets in
three classes weekly. During the summer, when they have a pool to
themselves, the team will hold practices five days a week.
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